This Is The End
by Pewdiepie's Slave
Summary: Everything was changing too quickly, Steven could barley comprehend what was going on. He wasn't his mother, why wouldn't they understand it? Why was it so hard for the Crystal Gems to understand he wasn't ready. For in the Human World, every life is precious, and everything can change in the blink of an eye.
1. Try Again

Pressure. Stress. Exhaustion.

That's all Steven felt, and has been feeling for days now. Push harder, be stronger, not good enough, that's all he has been hearing since last week.

"Try it again!" Pearl demanded, as she watched Steven collapse on the ground in a heap of panting, and his best friend Connie leaned on the hilt of the sword she possessed. They stood in the Ancient Sky Arena, practicing, training, _perfecting_.

Connie wiped the sweat off of her forehead with the back of her hand, "Come on, let's give it another shot!" She smiled down at Steven with loving eyes.

"O-Okay… but this is our last time…" Steven stuttered as he pulled himself off the floor.

Pearl smiled at the determination between the two, they feed off each other, in a strange human way. It was something she could never understand, human's were strange creatures, never knowing what they wanted, always having to maintain a steady source of energy only to excrete it hours later.

Closing her eyes, Pearl's gem glowed, shooting out a beam of light that seconds later materialized into hologram Pearl, and even to this day it amazed Steven, leaving his eyes wide and his face starstruck.

"Would you like to engage in combat?" A monotone voice of Holo-Pearl asked.

"I-I guess…" Steven muttered.

"Expert Mode: Level 3, Activated…"

Sighing deeply Steven got into a fighting stance, the Rose Quartz shield erupting from his gem and into his hands. Connie opened her stance widely, her knees bent as she unsheathed the sword.

The sword had a slightly dark pink pommel resembling a rosebud with a rose quartz embedded in it. The guard and knuckle bow of the sword was pink with the guard having an image of a four-petaled white flower in the middle and the grip being dark pink; the grip, guard, and knuckle bow are inscribed with a twirling thorn design. The sword's cupped hilt and broad blade with its tanto tip are reminiscent of a 17th-century military cutlass. The bright pink blade emitted a white aura as it was unsheathed. At the base of the blade, the rain guard is shaped like a pink rose with the two outer petals being dark pink.

The White aura gave a sense of strength and elegance as Connie held the blade in her hands, waiting for her opponent to make the first move. She surveyed Holo-Pearl, waiting for a moment of weakness as she shifted from foot to foot.

'Only Steven matters… I mean nothing…' She repeated in her head, as she watched Holo-Pearl leap into action, her sword swung forward in an attack, missing as Connie rolled under her. Steven deflected the sword with his shield and the sharp sound of metal on metal echoed through the air. In a swift motion Connie brought the sword forward in a thrust, straight through Holo-Pearl's chest. The hologram exploded into a smoke, that lingered in the air.

The duo continued to fight in sync, sweat pouring down their face, dripping into their eyes, and caused their clothes to sick to their movements were slowed but were still accurate, it wasn't until connie did a three hundred and sixty degree spin- which took down four Holo-Pearls- did she realize Steven was no longer there.

"Steven!" She called through the smoke, the more Holo-Pearls they defeated the thicker the smoke got. "Steven where are you!?" She tried to stay focus, calm and collected, but the more Holo-Pearls that appeared worried her. She sliced and stabbed as she tumbled through the fog.

"Steven!" She called as she tripped. Her leg was caught on something, it slowly began to drag her back.

The fear filled her mind, a scream built up in her throat as she clawed at the ground. Her sword- Rose's Sword- had skidded somewhere into the darkness. Her eyes widened as she stared into the lifeless eyes of a Holo-Pearl, it's hand gripping Connie's ankle, its nails dug into her skin.

"Game… Over…" It spoke, the sword raised over its head, already indecent, it's target, between Connie's eyes.

Connie let out a strangled scream, no this couldn't be happening, this never happened, never in any of their trials had a Holo-Pearl gone rogue, to act in an Un-Pearl-like fashion.

"Connie!" She heard his voice before she saw him.

A Flash of light appeared, smashing into the face of Holo-Pearl. Upon impact a sound erupted causing a wave of energy to clear the fog in a radius of ten feet. Clattering to the ground at Connie's feet was a shield, Steven's shield.

The shield was decorated in light pink thorns, that circled the shield, and in the center produced a small delicate rose. It emitted a light pink or even a white aura as it laid on the ground.

"Connie!" Steven panted as he kneeled by her, Placing her sword by her side, and looking into her eyes, "Are you hurt?"

"I-I'm fine! But I'm supposed to be protecting you.."

"If you're protecting me! Who's protecting you!?" he cried as his gem produced a bubble shield. As he did so three Holo-Pearls pounced on top of it, a second too late as it deflected their attack.

"I told you, we're both too tired for this… We've been practicing for hours, we need a break.." Steven panted as he sat down, the line of Holo-Pearls growing outside their bubble.

"Steven… I have to know how to protect you… I'm so close! I can Feel it!" Connie stated.

"Connie, I know you can! But we have to work together! That's what we're supposed to do!"

"Steven!" Connie started but stopped as she looked down, silence filled the bubble around them.

"...I Just…..Don't want to lose you.." Steven whispered, "I don't want you apart of this...I Don't want you getting hurt…"

Connie looked over, She heard his sniffles, and saw the tears gathering in his eyes, "Steven… You'll never lose me.." She said as she placed a hand on his cheek.

Steven sniffed and leaned forward, touching their foreheads together.

"Jam Buds?"

"Jam Buds" Connie laughed and pulled him closer.

There was a burst of light, the bubble bursted as the Holo-Pearls tumbled forward, but out of the bubble stood a figure, tall, broad shouldered with a confident stance.

Her black hair moved freely, whipping with her sudden movements. Parry, parry, thrust, Repeat. She moved elegantly, but with a sharp force knocking the Holo-Pearl's off balance. She used a swipe of her sword to shred the rows of Holo-Pearls, and smashed her shield causing it to give off an electric wave sending Holo-Pearls back to give additional fighting space.

They moved perfectly, it seemed as if it were a dance, until they were interrupted by a a thundering voice.

"Pearl!"

Their reality shifted as the smoke lifted, on the warp pad stood, a woman, tall and fair, shades covering her eyes. Garnet.

"Pearl! This is enough! It's Got to stop!" She demanded.

"Garnet! Please! I'm trying to help Steven!"

"That's enough for today. Steven, Connie-" Garnet stopped as she spotted the single being in the middle of the Arena, and couldn't help but smile.

"Stevonnie… That's enough for now.."

"I'm sorry Garnet, but Steven… He's getting the hang of this fusion thing… And like Pearl said! He's gotta keep practicing!" Stevonnie stated as they shifted weight to one leg, cocking out her hip.

"I said enough." Garnet said as she jumped down from the warp pad, landing next to Stevonnie, the earth underneath her indented, and the Stones cracked. "Enough." She repeated as her gloves phased around her hands, and she put them up to Stevonnie's head, a hand on each forced her to look at her as her glasses slipped from the bridge of her nose and clattered to the ground.

Stevonnie gasped quietly as her eyes widened, staring into Garnet's face. All three of her eyes stared at her with a harsh look. Her body stiffened, the breath froze in her throat, 'enough' repeated in her head. It started quite as a whisper, but slowly and gradually grew till it was a scream that pounded in her head. Her body began to glow and it seemed to be as if Garnet had been pulling two figures away from the single body.

"Now… Run along…" Garnet said as she dropped Steven and Connie to the ground and wiped off her hands.

"Garnet… How did you" Connie started.

"I said run along. Don't you have your Jelly Belly thing to get back to?" She asked, sliding her glasses back onto her face.

"It's called Jam Buds!" Steven interrupted with an awkward smile.

Connie smiled at Steven, though she had a desire to question Garnet, she realized by her tone it was not the time nor place.

"Come on Steven! I bought Strawberry Jam this time!"

"Yes! Strawberry preserves!" He laughed as Connie grabbed his arm and tugged him toward the warp pad.

"Bye Garnet! Be Pearl!" Steven waved as they warped back to the house.

Garnet turned to Pearl, "Pearl… I need to have a word with you…" She stated.


	2. What Haven't You Been Telling Me?

Steven smiled as he took a pile of shirts off the ground and threw them into his washing machine. Pressing the silver knobs randomly until the machine began to rumble, signifying to him that whatever he had done worked.

Turning around Steven could see the lovely view of the beach from the statue's hand in which he stood. The sun reflected off the ocean waves as birds flew silently overhead. It was a peaceful scene, relaxing at most, seeming to calm Steven's nerves.

"And… Gotcha!" Connie giggled as she was able to throw the damp t-Shirt over the clothes line. Her feet sit the ground with a smack as she landed but smiled, "You sure do have a lot of shirts."

They stood back to admire their artwork. Dozens of shirt hung from zig-zagging clothes lines, each the same shade of red with the same star design in the middle, the only difference was the style of said shirts. Deep 'V' Neck to muscle shirt Steven seemed to have them all.

"I think we should take a break." Steven wiped the sweat from his brow as the sun poured down upon them.

Connie nodded in agreement and plopped herself down right next to Steven, under what little shade they had. She leaned her back against the thumb of the statue and smiled at Steven, watching him as he concentrated on perfecting the application of jam on toast. She couldn't help but giggle as he licked the jam off his fingers making them even stickier than they were.

She sighed contently as she picked up her violin in order to tune it. Steven, seeing her actions, smiled and picked up his ukulele. Holding it tightly in his hands he strummed, testing the tune, before nodding to Connie.

 _"_ _The sun is bright, our shirts are clean, we're sitting up above the sea. Come on and share this jam with me!"_ He sang quietly.

Connie giggled, " _Peach or plum or strawberry, any kind is fine, you see. Come on and share this jam with me! I'll do my best to give this jam the sweetness it deserves."_

 _"_ _And I'll keep it fresh, I'm jamming on these tasty preserves!"_

They both chimed together _, "Ingredients in harmony, we mix together perfectly, come on and share this jam with me!"_

With that, they collapsed in laughter, "That was great Connie!" Steven smiled as he picked a piece of bread. He tapped his piece against Connie's as if they were toasting champagne. They we silent for only a little while, savoring the sweet taste of the strawberry jam, before a thought nagging at Connie erupted from her mouth.

"Steven." She said, gathering his attention, " What Garnet did earlier… What _was_ that?"

Steven stopped chewing as he pondered this thought, "I don't actually know…?"

"What she did to us- to Stevonnie….It was…. unexplainable. We were connected, Fused! And then-And She-And…. " Connie gathered her thoughts, "She seemed to have a power, some kind of force, that she were able to dig deeper into the fusion, gathering the individual beings and forcing them apart. But-But…" by this point Connie was pacing back and forth. "I _felt_ her. Her hand grabbing me… but also grabbing my-... is that it? A fusion with a gem and a human, is it that their souls combine to create one being?"

Connie placed a hand on her chest, over her heart, " If their souls were to combine, they could be strong, and move as one… but then, how did she separate Stevonnie?... Garnet's glare froze us-her-them- whatever the pronoun it'll take! It doesn't matter! What matters is how Garnet was able to separate us!"

"I-I don't know…" Steven muttered looked down at the container of Jam. "I mean… I've seen Garnet unfuse by force before, but then she got poofed, and well, we didn't."

"Come on! I want to find out how she did that." Connie said as she took off down the arm of the statue.

"Wait Connie! Our Jam!" Steven called but she was far too determined to care.

"...Well…. we can't leave them behind or else the evil seagulls will get them. Not today seagulls!" Quickly in one swift motion Steven swiped the rest of the jam covered bread into his mouth and rush after her.

Pearl shuttered the moment Steven and Connie disappeared on the warp pad, leaving her alone with Garnet,

"G-Garnet, please I can explain-"

"Pearl." Granet said sternly. "What were you thinking?"

"I-I was trying to help him! We both know he needs to perfect his fusion."

"Pearl…" Garnet said as she grabbed Pearl's upper arm, "He's not one of us. He' different, you've got to understand he has his limits."

Pearl stopped mid-attempt in pulling her arm away, "I…. I Just don't want to lose them…" She whispered and bowed her head as a tear seemed to fall down her face.

"I know he has limits, I just wish he was more like her...Rose… She could take on a million things at once and still have energy for battle…"

"Yes, but Steven is _not_ Rose Quartz, you must understand that."

Garnet released her grip, watching the delicate gem collapse to her knees, tears now staining the ground on which minuets before hand she had been fighting. This would pass, Garnet knew, but to hear her slight sobs were heart aching, even for a heartless gem whose body is an illusion.

"Pearl…" Garnet bent down to embrace Pearl, "Please you have to be strong."

"I'm not strong! I'm not you… I need you to make me feel strong!"

"You need to learn how to be strong without me, for I won't always be there for you."

"Garnet… I can't."

"If you can't be strong be strong for me, or for Steven, than be strong for Rose. Follow her plan to the very end, that's what she would've wanted."

Pearl nodded softly as she listened to Garnet, she was right, about everything. She has to think of what is right for Steven, not what she knew was good for Rose.

Rose, oh how dearly she was missed, the ache and desire that Pearl held for her, were to never ceace. A space in the void, that Steven could never fill, he was his own being, who made his own choices. Yes, the similarities were present, but he was never going to walk the same path of which Rose would've.

"You did well though."

"W-what?" Pearl stuttered.

"Training. Connie the Swordsmen, she's quick, and powerful."

"W-why yes, she is excelling at a great pace. She's strong, and can handle Rose's sword…" Pearl wiped her face quickly, taking pride in her pupal, for compliments from Garnet didn't come often.

"And Steven, his shields are strong, he can take more powerful hits, and his bubble is strong, far stronger than I could imagine at this point in time."

"Yes! W-we are trying to figure out what other powers of Rose he poses, but until then, I want him to perfect what he knows…"

"And Stevonnie.." Garnet started with a smile, "They're perfect, an experience never to be forgotten… They're like…" Garnet stopped and stared down at her hands, the two gems sparkling in the light.

"Nevermind. They're strong for how old they are in Human Years…" Garnet stated.

Pearl nodded, "We're almost there, I can feel it!" She folded her hands together, "I just… Hope he's ready for when it comes. It's coming much sooner than we expect….And this time we won't have Rose here to help us."

"Steven's strong, I'm sure he'll handle it, we just can't tell him not yet… We have to inform Greg about this first and soon Steven might be ready…"

"Garnet, Pearl, what haven't you been telling me?" Steven's voice rang out from above them, his head poking out from behind Connie's shoulder.

"Oh no.." Pearl whispered.

"Steven, I-" Garnet started.


	3. Everything Changes

"Steven I-" Garnet stared at him, she hadn't expected him to be here, his jam sessions take a human hour at most.

 _No! Steven's not supposed to know! Not yet! How can we screw up like this!?_ Ruby's voice rung out in Garnet's head.

 _Ruby. Please Calm down, we'll be alright. We'd have to explain it to him at some point._ Sapphire replied calmly.

 _No! Rose didn't want this! Not yet!_

 _How do you know what Rose wanted, she's not here Ruby. She wouldn't have been able to stop what happened._

"Garnet?" Steven asked as he climbed down the steps. She had frozen mid sentence.

"Garnet please…" Pearl said awkwardly, "I think it's time we tell him.."

 _Sapphy! This is not right! We can't just- Ugh! Why Don't you get it! He's not ready! They're going to kill him out there!_

Garnet's body shook, her glasses slowly slipped down her nose revealing the distant look in her eyes.

"G-Garnet?..." Steven asked as he stepped forward. His question pushed to the back of his mind as worry and fear replaced it.

 _Stop worrying. We can't help it, stop overreacting._

"O-overreacting…" Garnet muttered.

"W-What do you mean?" Pearl asked as she placed a hand on Garnet's shoulder.

"I-I'm not…. Over… Reacting!" Garnet yelled as she took a step back.

"Garnet!" Steven yelled as he lept forward.

Garnet's body contorted, twisting and morphing. Her body glowed brightly as the two gems in her hands glowed brighter. The red and blue contrasted greatly against the blinding white light. A screamed echoed from the glowing bright light as it split in half, divided right down the middle.

Collapsed on the floor were two bodies, one red and the other blue.

"Ruby…. Sapphire…" Steven gasped as he watched the two gems that created who he knew as Garnet get off the ground.

Sapphire looked at her hands, she was quiet, even more so than normal. "Ruby..please.." Sapphire whispered.

Ruby growled, her body erupting in flames as her anger rose, "Why can't you take this seriously!?"

"I am taking this seriously."

"Steven should know the truth!"

"He will in time."

"How long until then? How long until… he.."

Steven sat there perplexed, what were they talking about? What weren't they telling him? "Stop!" He yelled getting the attention of the arguing gems.

He finally looked at them, actually looked at them. Sapphire, her eye covered by her white, disheveled hair. She looked pained, or stressed, probably both. Contrasting from her normal, calm and collected self. And Steven, from what he could see through the break's in Sapphire's hair, could tell she was struggling with a conflict much too great for one gem to hold. A conflict much too great for even two gems, which held such great of a weight it forced them to unfuse. Tears threatened to spill over the rim of Sapphire's eye, it seemed that at any moment she would break into millions of gem shards.

Ruby was a pot a lava bubbling over. the flames that surrounded her grew greatly with every passing second. She bit her tongue from ranting even move, which if she couldn't hold for much longer would probably be the cause of Sapphire going over the edge. She had a wild look in her eyes, deeply contrasting with Sapphire's. It was fear, anger, regret, and overall confusion, something had been bothering the gems so greatly, causing them to fight.

"Someone please! Tell me what's going on!?" Steven yelled, worry coating his voice as sweat dripped down his face.

"S-steven we can't! I-It's not time we-" Pearl stuttered.

"Pearl! I swear to god! Stop treating me like a child!" Steven yelled.

"We can't! We have to follow Rose's plan!"

"Pearl, Just tell him!" Connie, who had been silent, observing the scene, finally spoke up. "Do you really think Rose wants Steven to watch everything fall apart!? To watch Garnet unfuse? He's mature and deserves to know what's going on! Since it includes him!"

"Pearl…." Sapphire whispered, "I think it's time we tell him…"

Pearl looked worried, defeated, sad, but overall ashamed. "Come, Steven, It's time you learned the truth.

Pearl walked on the warp pad and disappeared, Steven and Connie soon followed behind, the light, happy mood had diminished into a serious dark tone, which set Steven on edge. By the time Steven and Connie reached the house, Pearl leaned on the kitchen counter, her face in her hands.

"Steven.." She said without turning around, "I've dreaded telling you this… Rose knew this would happen, she was hopping she'd be here to face this, not you… when she…. _conceived_ … You, she told us what we had to do. You need to learn your powers, to perfect fusion and not just with _her."_ Pearl was emotionless, speaking in a monotone voice.

"Steven… It's already happening… I'm sorry. I tried to protect for as long as I can but… We're at war, Steven… We're at _war_."

"Wh-" Steven started but Connie cut him off.

"The homeworld… they've realized the Peridot is no longer on their side, that the Cluster is no longer in their favor. They've strengthened their army… Their destination: Earth. And I hoped it wouldn't have had to come to this, but you have to fight Steven...You have to fight.."

Pearl removed her hands from her face, revealing the sadness that lay beneath, tears spilled down her face, revealing her weakness.

"Pearl.." Steven took her hand, "It'll be okay, I'll fight, and We'll win.."

Pearl sniffed, trying to hold back her sobs, "Steven, I don't _want_ you to fight… I don't want to lose Ro- You… I don't want to lose you.."

Steven stiffened, he heard his mother's name. He always knew that he resembled his mother, Rose. She had been the one leading the crystal gems, she was the mother of the group, the one who they loved dearly. Her gem lay in her stomach, as does Steven's now, her voice was soft like rose petals, and her laugher like jingle bells. A picture of her lay above their front door, and Steven always believed that Pearl had blamed him for Rose's death.

"Pearl…" Connie interrupted, trying not to take offense to Pearl's comment earlier, "Steven is stronger than you think… You've been training us for weeks now! We can practice more, fuse more, train more…"

She looked to Pearl and then Steven, "The real question is when are they arriving?"

"Soon.." Sapphire said as she appeared on the warp pad, "I can't see exactly, but soon, and we must be prepared…"

Steven nodded, it seems like yesterday he was getting bits at Beach Citywalk fires, and now he's part of a Homeworld war.


	4. Snowy Christmas

Note: SO it's a Christmas chapter! I know it's late, I couldn't get around to posting it. Merry late Christmas y'all! Have a great holiday season.

Steven stared out the window,watching the small flurries fall down from the never happened before in Beach City. Snow littered the ground, dusting everything white. The snows sparkled and shined from the yellow glow of the street lights, contrasting against the dark lights.

He sighed and pushed away from the window and looked around his quiet house from the second Crystal Gems were out doing gem things, which left Steven alone, for a few hours time. Scratch that. He wasn't alone, he had the company of Peridot, who once again refused to come out of the bathroom. The bathroom was declared as 'The Peridot Place' since it was the only place Peridot felt anywhere near 'safe'.

It was Christmas Eve, a day that Steven waited for, for months,but his cheerful and bubbling mood were nowhere to be found. He was glum, a dark and gloomy haze surrounded him. It was about two weeks since he was told about Homeworld war, and that train of thought took over every moment of every.

All his free time had been changed from watching fruit cry to using his gem and it's energy to form his shields, and to try and fuse with anyone besides Connie. He had failed to do so which caused his confidence to plummet even further.

Connie had been busy, and Steven missed her presence around his house. She had her way of making him smile. Sure, Connie had been around to practice her -near perfect in Steven's opinion- swordfighting, Connie's mother sensing something was wrong, increased the amount of chores Connie had to keep her out of trouble. And possibly away from Steven for awhile. It was always chores, school, violin, and homework with Connie, Steven barely gets to see her besides from their training.

The more they fused, the more Steen missed Connie. It seemed as if his Gem was pulling him to her, yearning to fuse with her. Steven was scared to bring up this problem to the Crystal Gems because he could tell that it was abnormal, and is terrified Pearl.

Steven sighed and shook his head as he stared at the twinkling tree in the corner of the living room, it was different for him. Usually Steven is prancing around the tree with his ukulele in his Pajamas, singing songs he made up about Mr. Tree.

"They should be back any minute…" Steven muttered as he slumped over the couch.

He sat in his Cookie Cat pajamas, humming some Christmas songs as he waited. It seemed like forever, which was probably about five minutes before the door creaked open.

"Steven! We're home!" Amethyst yelled pushing past Pearl.

"Amethyst! I could've dropped the gifts!" Pearl called as she held three gifts, stacked perfectly in size order.

Garnet pushed pasted them, dozens of gifts in her arms, and dropped them all under the tree.

"Hello Steven." Garnet smiled.

"Hi Garnet!" Steven smiled, he would no longer be alone in the house.

"How can you withstand the cold! And w-whatever they call that white substance!" Pearl muttered removing her scarf and jacket.

"It's called snow..." Steven giggled.

"Well I dislike this snow." She stomped, and glared outside with a look of disgust as if the snow was flipping her off.

Amethyst laughed at Pearl's reaction. "Come on Pearl! The snow's not that bad!"

"How… How preposterous! It's like you're being attacked from every angle by the wind! And the ice whipping your face! How can one simply enjoy this weather!?"

Steven listened to the bickering and sighed before he walked over to Garnet, tugging on her pants.

"Yes, Steven?" Garnet called, as she tried to put up the stockings since Steven had forgotten to do so.

"W-well, Garnet.. Beach City hasn't seen snow before… Do you think the Homeworld is behind this? The snow is some secret plan of attack?"

Garnet stopped and bent down to Steven's level, removing her glasses so he could look at her. " Steven, this isn't anything the Homeworld could do, they don't have this kind of power… What did you wish for your birthdays a few months ago?"

Steven stopped, thinking hard, " I… I wished for snow…"

"See! There you go! You wished for the snow to come, and it did! Now stop worrying about the Homeworld" Garnet rubbed Steven's head, "It's Christmas! Have fun!"

Steven beamed, "I will!... Oh, And Garnet?"

"Yes, Steven?"

"Have you seen Connie? I haven't see her in a while-a-and I have a gift for her!"

Garnet laughed at her flustered child, "She said she'd be around later. After she picked up one last gift."

Steven nodded and thanked Garnet as he went to see what the other gems were doing, and maybe he would try to console Peridot out of the bathroom.

Steven was impatient, two hours had past and the wind howled outside. Everytime the door creaked open Steven would jump up, but so far it was only Rodolpho, Onion, and even his own father Greg- who now stuffed his face with food from the kitchen.

"Steven! Come join us!" Amethyst waved him over, but he only brushed her off.

"S-Steven what's wrong?" Pearl asked after a whispered discussion with Amethyst. "A-are you feeling well? Oh! I hope you're not catching a cold! This weather is just dreadful!" Pearl exclaimed when she felt Steven's forehead to feel for a fever.

"No-No! Pearl, I'm fine… It's just… Connie promised she'd be here.. and it's getting late…" Steven looked down at his hands.

Pearl nodded and was interrupted by a light voice.

"Oh, Steven!~"

Steven looked up, seeing Connie leaning against the the chair in the living room.

"Connie!" Steven's eyes sparkled as he pushed past Pearl to Connie, "I began thi-" He stopped, his body chilled with disappointment. "-You're not Connie…"

"Ha! You Should've seen your face! Priceless."

"Amethyst! That's not funny!" Pearl yelled, "You know how Steven feels about shapeshifting!"

"Lighten up Pearl!" Amethyst shifted into a purple Steven, "He was like, 'oh Connie! I loooooove yoooooouu!" She laughed loudly.

"Stop.." Steven whispered as he looked down, his face flushed red with embarrassment, tears threatened to spill from his eyes.

"Ha! Come on it was gold! Right Steven?...Steve?" Amethyst looked over into Steven's face, seeing the sadness and despair.

"Steven come on! I was only kidding! Hey, hey, look! I'm a crocodile!" Amethyst shifted nervously, seeing Garnet's hardened face.

Steven wiped the stray tears as he pushed passed them and marched out the door in the snow. Where he was going, he didn't quite know himself, all he knew was that he ended up shivering on the snow dusted sand. He let his tears fall, how could Amethyst do this? She knows his feelings, how how he reacts. But this was no way a warrior should act, a fighter shouldn't be crying, only standing strong, but Steven, he was no fighter. He wasn't strong.

"Steven!" A light familiar voice yelled.

"Go away Amethyst!" Steven yelled as the figure approached in the snow.

"It's not Amethyst!" It replied. IT was Connie.

Connie was soon recognizable through the snow as Steven quickly wiped his face. Her glassless frames sat on her nose, she wore a pretty blue dress, accompanied by a pair of gloves and a wool hat.

"Connie! You're here!" Steven gasped as he stood up, enveloping her in a hug.

"Of course!" She giggled as they spun in a hug, "I had to get your gift!"

This shocked Steven lightly, "M-My gift?"

"Of course silly!" She laughed, "I was on my way to your house, when I saw you rush down here! Was everything alright?"

"I'm fine…" Steven blushed embarrassed for Connie had seen him crying.

"Well come on it's cold out here!"

Steven nodded and took her hand, leading her back up the stairs, "I had begun to think you wouldn't come. I know! It's crazy of me! To think you were afraid of me, or your parents grounded you or-"

"Steven."

"I was afraid I did something wrong. We're Jam buds and all, I'm-

"Steven."

"W-what?" he blushed, and stopped right before he opened the door, not realizing he had been rambling for multiple minutes.

"Look up.."

And so Steven did. He looked up to see a well placed mistletoe, like in the romantic movies.

"O-oh…"

He looked at her, his cheeks the same color red as hers, they stood so close, like days fighting the the arena. Except now they weren't fighting, the quite opposite at that matter.

Steven swallowed hard, his eyes staring into hers before he forced them closed and leaned forwards slowly, as did she.

The door opened behind them.

"Hey s-Stevonnie!?" Greg's voice echoed through their head.

Note: Yes! I love Stevonnie! I Couldn't help but make it cute at the end. Sorry if the chapter seemed rush! Christmas season is crazy!.


	5. Messed Up

Steven laid buried under the covers of his blanket, it had been seventy two hours since he plopped himself on his bed, and it has been seventy two hours since Steven had any human contact. The Crystal Gem had tried to wake Steven from his hibernation, but nothing seemed to wake him from his eternal slumber. For one, it wasn't really slumber. Steven held his eyes closed, blocking the noise be covering his ears with his hands, and he curled into a ball to take up as little space as possible. He was unresponsive to everyone.

"Steven, I made lunch." Pearl's voice would sound as the corner of the bed indented from her little weight. "It's a ham sandwich, and I got a Cookie Cat for you. I know they're your favorite." She would place the tray down on the bed, and there it would sit until the bread would turn soggy, and the cookie cat would melt.

"Steven! Come on! I'm gonna go down to the beach and see how far I can throw Peridot!" Amethyst would explain, followed by some form of disagreement from Peridot. It was always some form of entertainment with Peridot that Amethyst would volunteer. Hoping it would snap Steven out of his funk, to no avail. He still lay hidden under his sheets.

"Steven, it's time to come out. You don't need to hide." Garnet would say in a stern motherly voice. Hoping she'd get Steven out of bed, shake of his nerves. The only thing it succeeded in doing is getting the small flesh ball to shiver under the silk skin of which he lay.

Steven ignored them all, tears slid down his face as he withheld a whimper. He messed up, he knew it. His mind yelled at him again and again.

' _You messed up.' It would yelled, ' You messed up and now she's never coming back! You're weak without her! She's the skilled one! She's so elegant and flawless with her swordsmanship. All you can do is form a bubble! Now that she's gone you're doomed. The Homeworld Gems are going to attack, and you've been doing nothing but lying here. You're unfit to fight!"_

Steven whimpered.

" _Everyone was looking up to you, but now. Now there's no hope. And it's all your fault"_

Steven gripped his head, tugging out his hair. He felt bad already, his mind was making it worse. He held his eyes shut, wrinkles appeared on his faces as he tried not to remember the night, but his mind had already flashed to it.

" _Steven!" A light familiar voice yelled._

 _"Go away Amethyst!" Steven yelled as the figure approached in the snow._

 _"It's not Amethyst!" It replied. IT was Connie._

 _Connie was soon recognizable through the snow as Steven quickly wiped his face. Her glassless frames sat on her nose, she wore a pretty blue dress, accompanied by a pair of gloves and a wool hat._

 _"Connie! You're here!" Steven gasped as he stood up, enveloping her in a hug._

 _"Of course!" She giggled as they spun in a hug, "I had to get your gift!"_

 _This shocked Steven lightly, "M-My gift?"_

 _"Of course silly!" She laughed, "I was on my way to your house, when I saw you rush down here! Was everything alright?"_

 _"I'm fine…" Steven blushed embarrassed for Connie had seen him crying._

 _"Well come on it's cold out here!"_

 _Steven nodded and took her hand, leading her back up the stairs, "I had begun to think you wouldn't come. I know! It's crazy of me! To think you were afraid of me, or your parents grounded you or-"_

 _"Steven."_

 _"I was afraid I did something wrong. We're Jam buds and all, I'm-_

 _"Steven."_

 _"W-what?" he blushed, and stopped right before he opened the door, not realizing he had been rambling for multiple minutes._

 _"Lookup..."_

 _And so Steven did. He looked up to see a well placed mistletoe, like in the romantic movies._

 _"O-oh…"_

 _He looked at her, his cheeks the same color red as hers, they stood so close, like days fighting the the arena. Except now they weren't fighting, the quite opposite at that matter._

 _Steven swallowed hard, his eyes staring into hers before he forced them closed and leaned forwards slowly, as did she. His body shook slightly, never in his mind had he ever thought he'd come to this point in time. So close to someone he cared for, someone his gem yearned for._

 _He opened his eyes to find himself staring into Connie's deep brown chocolate pools. Her breath lingered on his lips, too far to walk away, but not close enough to kiss. His hands rested on her hips, her arms draped over his shoulders. He could still back out now, but his body resisted._

 _Both of them looked at each other unsure, nervous, almost asking who would make the move without physically stating an opinion. Suddenly, Steven's balance shifted, almost as if he was being dipped and Connie lean into him._

 _That's what struck Steven odd, he felt her lips pressed onto his for a few seconds. It was a light touch, soft like butterflies wings, but seconds later it was gone. She was gone. Steven opened his eyes, his body held a new warmth as he scanned the snow covered horizon but Connie was nowhere in sight._

 _"Hey! S- Stevonnie?!" Greg's voice rang out._

 _Stevonnie stared down quickly to see the feminine figure that they made up._

 _'Connie! Are you okay!?' Steven called out._

 _He received no response other than the feeling of rejection. A feeling in his stomach that felt like him throwing up. His mind split open in pain._

 _'Let me go Steven! Let me go!" Connie yelled as she pushed away._

 _She forced the unfusion herself, leaving Steven to tumble into the snow, watching her shadow disappear into the distance._

 _"Hey, buddy, I'm s-" Greg began, but Steven pushed passed him. Tears clogged his eyes, unanswering Pearl's question of concern as he rushed to his room._

"Oh, Steven!" Pearl cried as she rushed forward hugging the lump on the bed.

Steven's gem had glowed bright projecting his memory out in a hologram for the Crystal Gems to view.

Garnet pulled the sheets off of Steven as they enveloped him into a hug, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment and a tear slid down his face.

"I-I messed up." He sniffed as Amethyst shifted into a cat to curl into Steven's side.

"Look at me, Steven." Garnet said, "You didn't mess up. Connie will be back, I know it."

"Steven, it's alright, it's just a human relationship. R-right?" Pearl smiled.

"Yeah! Steven! You'll be purrrrrfectly fine, this will pass!" Amethyst smiled.

Steven nodded as he felt the warmth of the embrace that the Crystal Gems provided. Steven wanted to ask the question of fusion that was on his mind for so long, but he withheld it, not wanting to ruin the moment.

"Steven…" Garnet smiled, "why don't you go visit your father, he'd like to see how you're going…" She smiled, finishing with a wink.

Steven blushed and nodded as he untangled himself from the group and rushed to get ready.


	6. Okay?

Note: Hey guys, P.S here, I'd like to apologize for my tardiness. I have neglected this story. I've been deal thing with a lot of things. With my friends, school, even my goddamn self. The world is slipping through my fingers like sand. The only place I can possibly hide is through the words of my stories. So expect a few more updates. Thank you guys for sticking with me. It means a lot.

"Where are you going?" Peridot asked as Steven rushed into the bathroom, watching him put the 'weapon against only cavities' in his mouth brushing back and forth. She had sat on the toilet and when Steven threw open the door he was just able hear the punch line of a joke.

"I'm going to see my dad!" He said as the white foam dripped from his mouth to the sink making the pristine gem gag.

"Please close you vocal communicator. It's… Unpleasant" Peridot mutter making Steven cackle with delight.

"You're so funny, Dot." Steven spat into the sink and whipped his mouth.

Steven slipped on his sandals and rushed out the door, ignoring Pearl's mothering call of putting on a jacket. _Why did Garnet want me to see dad? Steven huffed as he began to jog down the beach. Did she see something with her… Future Vision?!_ He smiled to himself as he waved to Rodolpho. He seemed as he was still trying to find a way to 'keep beach city weird'.

Steven smiled as he rounded the corner, just being able to see the back of his dad's van down the road. He picked up his pace to a jog. It took him a moment to comprehend the tracking voice. He had heard her before he saw her.

 _Connie?!_

Steven stopped a few feet from the van, staring at the two pairs of legs hanging from the back of the vehicle. How hadn't he noticed them before?

"I… I don't know Mr. Universe! I don't know what happened!" Connie cried.

"W-well, I never fused with Rose before… So, let's just go over this again. From the beginning."

Connie sighed and nodded, " I found him in the snow, and we were talking. He seemed as if he had been crying, and I wanted to make sure he was okay. He thought I was Amethyst for some reason, I don't know why-"

"Shape shifting…" Mr. Universe grumbled, "Amethyst loves to shape shift."

"- I made him smile, I always hate seeing him so… Unhappy. And we were walking back to the house, he kept talking. You know how he gets nervous and just blabbers on."

Connie looked down at her hands, fingering the lense-less frame involuntary. Her hair covered half her face and Steven couldn't tell whether she had been smiling or crying.

"And well, we leaned in, and we kissed. I think. Maybe we did, I don't know! It was a perfect moment, we were close, it was snowing, we were under the mistletoe toe! It was perfect! It had all the requirements of a cheesy Chick Flick. But I don't know! It was my first kiss, or whatever you'd call it! I never even got to you know… Feel… Him.. Uh, close to me…? We instantly fused, I don't want that! I don't wanna fuse!"

Steven froze, did he hear right? After all these weeks how could he have not known that Connie didn't want to fuse with him. Why didn't she tell him?

Steven felt betrayed, stabbed through the back. Anger burned his throat and sadness burned his eyes. _Connie, why didn't you tell me? You should have told me! I shouldn't have brought you into this! You're a child, you have a family that cares… You should have never gotten involved with my life._

"S-Steven?" Connie's voice whispered, her large eyes stared up at him, worried and afraid. "I…. What did you hear?"

"I heard enough…" Steven sniffed, his nose was beginning to run, and tears threatened to spill and yet he continued to hold his ground. "If you never wanted to fuse with me then you should've told me from the beginning! I would have never fused, I could have never introduced you to the gems, and you can go live that holy normal life I know you want! You think I'm weird! You think I'm a freak! So Connie! Why don't you just say it? Steven's a freak! No! Scream it from the rooftops 'Steven's a freak!'"

"Steven!" Mr. Universe interrupted, his voice wavered As He tried to act Stern, never once having to discipline his child before.

"And you dad! How could you agree with her?! Have you always though I was a freak?"

"Steven" Greg warned.

"What about mom huh? Did you think she was a freak too?"

"Alright that's enough! You can not talk about your mother like that, I loved her, and you, you're special Steven, not a freak. Oh gosh, how do I say this?... Steven you're different, half human, half gem-"

"The crystal gems already explained this to me" Steven interrupted, whiling his nose with his sleeve.

"Yes, but you're the first hybrid… And the first to fuse with a human. You're special Steven, and Connie here wasn't calling you a freak. "

"She wasn't?"

"No she wasn't. She was-"

"I can take it from here Mr. Universe." Connie smiled and Greg took the hint that it was his cue to leave.

"Steven, I didn't mean to say anything bad about you… It's just that, that day by the beach we-"

"We fused I know, and you just hate it so much."

"No that's not it!" Her face reddened as she clutched her glasses, "We kissed! Okay! And that was my first kiss… But instead of being all romantic, we fused. I didn't want that. Are we just gonna fuse everytime we touch? Can we not get In A few inches of each other without being forced to fuse."

"Connie.." Steven interrupted her chatter as her mind strung thoughts together.

Steven grabbed her hand and pulled her closer, and cut her off with a quick kiss, nothing romantic but more to prove a point.

"See? W-we didn't fuse." Steven blushed, his voice seemed to raise an octave afterwards.

Connie also blushed looking at him, "I see, but we… What happens about the other times? What if it's only this time that we don't fuse? I don't like to. It's unnatural to be forced to fuse. It felt just like…" Her face lit up as a memory crossed over her mind, "just like when garnet forced us to unfuse! Oh gosh! I forgot to ask her about that! How could I forget?"

And just like that Connie was back to her old self, fumbling with too many thoughts that one mind can not handle.

"Steven.." She asked spitting out one of her thoughts, "what does this mean for us now?"

"I don't know… I guess we're-"

"-extra special jam buds?-"

"Yeah, extra special jam buds" he smiled, looking down at her hand in his. It's funny how people tend to over react.

"Come on…" He smiled, "let's go talk to Garnet… I think she had something she wanted to show us…" Because of her… Future vision!

Connie smiled and swung their hands as they walked. If only they could always be this happy.


	7. Lapis

Steven's smile fell off his face the moment he walked into the house. The gems spoke in hushed voices, sitting around the bar. Garnet leaned against the support pillar, Amethyst sat on the bar and pearl passed back in forth.

Bird mom squawked quietly it seemed as if something was ruffling her feathers. Her face clearly showed signs of distress and Steven couldn't help but grab Connie's hand out of fear of what's to come.

Amethyst was the first to notice that the couple was there and smiled, her hair in messy waves signifying that she was recently awoken from her slumber.

"Aaaaye Stevonie!" She squeaked.

Pearl stopped, looking at the both of them trying to put on a smile but it couldn't hide the worry from her face. She opened her mouth as if trying to strip words together, but for the second time ever she was speechless.

"Steven, Connie, welcome." Garnet smiled as she pushed of the support pulled and spread her arms wide in a welcoming gesture. "We were just discussing that it would be a great time to go on a trip, a… Vacation."

Steven stood perplexed, "A vacation? What about the war-"

"N-no! I-I mean no, don't worry about _that_ , what is really important is that you two are well rested and…um… Stress free." Pearl squawked.

Connie was not pleased with the fact that they were trying to cover up the truth. Avoiding their main problem at the moment and that was the lack of knowledge. They were in the dark on anything about the homeworld.

"Garnet, just stop." Connie said, clutching Steven's hand for what could be seen as encouragement, or even as a lifeline to clear her sense of anger. "We can't stop the inevitable. The homeworld gems _are_ coming. The war _is_ happening, the only thing we can do is prepare for it."

Garnet's facial expression was unclear, her smile faded into a straight line, and he fists were clenched at her sides. Amethyst stared at Connie with shock and slight approval, it seemed as if no one talks back to Garnet so this was rare. And Pearl, oh Pearl, had such a look of disgust on her face. The fact that a human, a small, little, _breakable_ , human were to speak out against Garnet. Garnet being a strong, unbreakable force, only to be denied.

"Garnet..." Steven said softly, "enough with these distractions, tell us the truth... What did you see in your visions?"

"How dare you-"

"Pearl, please... It's alright." Garnet adjusted the glasses on her nose and looked at the strong young man in front of her. " My visions, as you know Steven, I don't just have one. I have many, each of them a different result based on a different reaction. I see every possible ending, and none of them had a happy ending. This time there were too many, more visions than what I've ever experienced before."

Steven stared at her, his face scrunched up in thought.

"The best ending I saw was... You and Connie, and Greg, the tree of you leaving town. We'd go into space, and fight, you'd be safe, and we'd save your world."

"What about you guys?"

"We'd become stardust."

"N-no... No! This is your world too, I'm fighting this war with you side by side."

"Steven, I-"

"No, Garnet, listen to me. I'm fighting for you, I'm fighting for me, I'm fighting for this world... And most importantly I'm fighting for my mother."

The Crystal Gems sat there in silence. Amethyst looked down covering her face with her hair, Pearl held her hand to her mouth, and Garnet wiped her eyes under her glasses.

Amethyst nodded, "so..." She broke the slightly uncomfortable silence. " someone's got to get Peri out of the bathroom... We gotta catch Steven up on the new information.." She jumped from the stool and scurried from the kitchen. The bathroom door echoed as it hit the wall.

"New information?" Steven replied, staring at them.

Pearl nodded and sucked in a deep breath. "We've obtained new information, from our spy..." Her gem glowed and a hologram appeared. The familiar figure stared down at Steven, her blue eyes piercing his soul.

" This is Lapis Lazuli, reporting in. I have new information. The Homeworld has a set of new ships, similar to the one we were held prisoner on. Expect it seems as if the ships can connect together, almost as if to form one giant, robotic gem. It seems the weakness is the main ship. Yellow diamond is captaining the head, as well as blue diamond. It seems as if the diamonds are coming together for a full scale war." She stopped and looked behind her, as if she heard something. " Get Steven out of the war. Their technology has advanced, so much so that even peridot won't be able to compare do it

"This is a war we won't win, and that's a given. Steven is our number one priority. If the prophecy is right, he's our only hope. I'll return as soon as I can, and remember-" she stopped and looked behind her. Her face showed a sign of distress. Her figure began moving, dodging behind a corner and the camera was unfocused. The pounding of feet echoed.

"This is my last and final transmission. Lapis out." A yelled interrupted the end of the transmission.

Steven stared at the disappearing hologram trying to make sense of the transmission. _Prophecy, advancement in technology, the diamonds? What was going on?_

"So it's true, huh?" Peridot said as she pushed off the wall, having been watching the transmission from the hallway. "They improved their technology. I could just kill the Peridot that manufactured those ships, that was supposed to be my job! Well, doesn't matter now. If they're that far ahead we have to listen to Lapis. Protect Steven at all costs."

"See Steven? It would be better for you to leave, to protect you.." Pearl said, her voice unsteady.

"Steven is not leaving, and that's final." Connie said, leaning towards Steven. "But the main thing here is, what prophecy was Lapis talking about?"

Pearl looked uneasy, "reanalyzing the stories on the walls on the moon, Lapis seemed to uncover a prophecy."

Her gem glowed once more revealing the ancient hieroglyphic like pictures on the wall. It was clearly a picture of Steven, but slightly cracked. It was impossible to identify what exactly he was standing on, it was a pink stand and it seemed as if gems surround him. Some could be identified as Garnet and Pearl but the other crystal gems get lost out of frame.

"We don't entirely know what it means, it seems as if you play a more important role later on in your life, and this can only happen if we were to keep you safe."

"We don't know that for sure!" Connie intervened again, "we have to go to the moon and see the prophecy, we have to find out the rest of it."

"We can't." Garnet said, finally making an appearance in the conversation.

"Why not?"

"Lapis's last transmission was yesterday."

Steven stared at her, "So does that mean she's in trouble?"

"Yesterday in Homeworld time. In earth time, that's two weeks. We have yet to hear from her since."

Connie stared uneasily at Garnet, "And we can't visit the moon because...?"

"The Homeworld has taken the moon. War is closer than we thought."


	8. The Past Is Just The Past

Steven sat on the roof of his barn. The 'UUU Space Travel' sign hung on an angle due to the lack of maintenance ever since Lapis' last stay on earth. Her last stay on earth consisted an attempted fusion with Peridot, which failed. The two are them are quite like Pearl and Amethyst. If they don't get into the same gem wavelengths before they attempt to fuse, their emotions towards each other acts as two similar magnets. They repel each other.

It also included an attempted relaxation day on the water. It failed miserably resulting in the reappearance of Jasper, begging to fuse with Lapis, to absorb the power from the beautiful water mom. Since that day Lapis realized that Jasper would never give up following her, so she left Earth. She had told Steven it was to protect herself from Jasper, but in reality it was a mission to protect Stevene.

"Oh, Lappy…" Steven sighed as he stared up into the sky looking at the half visible moon. "Why did you do it? I could've protected you.."

Steven felt an aching in his chest, he saved her from a mirror, tried to protect her from from Jasper, only to have her actually protecting him.

"Hey Squirt! You up there?"

"Dad?" Steven stood up, "What are you-ah!" Steven slid off the old decaying roof.

"Steven! Be Care...ful" Greg yelled, before he realized Steven floating down to the ground softly, "Oh yeah… I forgot that was one of your mother's powers…" he said as he scratched the back of his neck.

"Y-yeah… I've got a lot of her powers…" Steven said awkwardly as his hand went to the gem on his stomach.

"She was one heck of a woman…. Did I tell you the time when I meet her with Marty, or how I tried to fuse with her, or when we had to babysit Sour Crea-"

"Dad." Steven cut him off, "Not to be rude or anything, but why are you here?"

"-Oh. Um...Can't I come see my favorite son?"

"Dad."

"Okay, I'm sorry. I'm just really worried about you. The Gems told me that you found out about Lapis and-"

"You knew!?"

"N-No, No! I mean yes, but Steven you gotta believe me! She went on her own for a reason. She thought you were better off knowing!"

"Why does everyone think it's better to keep me in the dark?" He asked clutching his fists. "I'm not little anymore!" He yelled.

"Steven.."

"No! Just let me talk!" He closed his eyes. "All I want is to know what's going on! I'm not running away! I'm here to fight, I'm here to protect earth! I'm here to protect what mom stood for!"

"Steven!"

"What!?" He yelled opening his eyes, tears appeared on the corner of eyes.

"Look!" Greg yelled.

Steven finally got a good look at what was Infront of him. It was not like his normal bubble, nor was it his shield. It was a giant wall, it was pink and looked as if it were rock. Steven quickly looked around as if expecting Garnet to be there. If she were the one who put up the wall to protect Greg from whatever Steven might do.

"D-Did I do this?"

"Y-yeah, kinda scared me.."

"Oh, Dad! I'm so sorry!" Steven said as he waved his hands in nervousness with the idea that his anther might ground him again surfacing in his mind. Though when Steven moved his hands it sent the rock wall crashing into the side of the barn, creating another hole.

"I'm sorry!" Steven huffed again.

"It's alright!" Greg said as he ruffled his son's hair, "I have the money to fix this now.."

Steven nodded and hugged his father, "come on, Connie's waiting back at the house for you. Lucky girl you got there.."

"Daaaad" Steven whined embarrassed as he got into the car.

"Do we have to uh.. Have the.. You know talk?"

"Dad!"

"Alright! That's better for both of us.." Greg mutter as they drove away.

They drove away leaving the hole in the barn. If they were to look into the barn, they would've seen that the rock wall was a much greater power than Steven imagined.

"Steven!" Connie said as she ran towards Steven, but got pushed out of the way by a panicking Pearl.

"Steven! Are you alright? Are you hurt? Oh, God! There's a scratch on his arm!"

"Pearl. Calm down. Steven is fine." Garnet said as Steven licked the small cut on his arm making it heal instantly.

"Well, I brought him back… I think you should show him…" Greg sighed.

"Show me what?" Steven asked, grabbing Connie's hand.

"G-Garnet thought it would help you understand how your mother won the gem war by… showing you it." Pearl said nervously as her gem flickered to life.

"Aw yeah! Movie time!" Amethyst smiled as she ran to the kitchen, bursting out a bag of popcorn. Pearl groaned. The kind of groan that says, 'I can't believe I fused with this Neanderthal.'

Once she returned with popcorn and everyone settled into the seats, and Peridot dimmed the lights. Pearl stood in the center as her gem glowed.

"They're here." Her light and airy voice voice send a shock through Steven's bones. It was Rose's voice. He only heard it a few times but he knew it by heart.

The camera rotated as Rose turned to address the crowd. Gems, hundreds and thousands of them stood behind Rose in Ranks. Next to Rose on her left stood a pink Pearl, Next to her Amethyst. On her right It was Pearl and Garnet. They were her highest ranking officials of the rebellion. Some gems had fused already, forming large multiple limbed creatures.

"They're here!" Her voice rang out, louder this time and followed by a chorus of shouts. "This is it! This is what we've been training for. We must protect Earth at all costs. This planet is unique and beautiful. Covered in little creatures that have the free will to do whatever they want. We are not only fight for them, but for our own freedom! The freedom to be who we are, the to live as we please, to show the Homeworld that there's more to life than distribution!" The crowd shouted again.

"This will be a tough battle, some of us won't make it, but standing here together we know that. Protect yourself. Protect your partner. We fight together as one! Bubble your fallen brethren, we will win! There is no denying that." Rose said, as the camera moved to the oncoming ships. They looked like giant rocks floating closer.

"Be ready!" Her voice echoed once again.

The pink Pearl next next to her shifted in a glow of light, shifting into a large pink lion, which rose then mounted, unsheathing her sword.

"Garnet, Amethyst." Pearl sounded, "On my count we fuse, alright?"

"On my count." Garnet said, her three eyes staring up at the ships.

Pearl nodded but huffed, they waited as the laser light cannons took down a handful of ships, but it didn't make a dent in the number of ships beginning to land.

"Now!" Rose yelled as lion kept forward pouncing on three rubies as they left the ship. The gems behind rose advanced beginning to fight the first wave, bubbling fallen gems so they were unable to return.

Steven covered his eyes occasionally when Pearl would decapitate a gem and their heads would roll back mid scream.

"I think we should stop…" Greg said watching his son's discomfort.

"Greg's right…" Garnet said standing up, "there are some thing Steven doesn't need to see"

Pearl stopped and turned around covering her face, "I-I'm sorry… The past is just the past now…"

"You should be preparing Steven for the future.." Connie said as she stood up, "We'll be waiting for them when they come, and we won't be alone. You keep forgetting our allies.." Connie said with a smile


End file.
